Muscle Car Suspension - Suspension Soup

Suspension is important for any type of car, whether it be a street cruiser or corner-craving monster. When it comes to safety, quality suspension components are a must, and should take priority over shiny valve covers and a kickin' stereo.

Here we will show you the options available for many different model cars. Keep in mind most of these companies make kits for several models, not just the one featured. (There are not enough pages in our mag to show you every system from every manufacturer for every car, so we're showing you a well-rounded grouping.) You could choose to rebuild your stock suspension with high-quality OEM-style components, but it's only a few bucks more to upgrade to aftermarket pieces with modern designs. Often, these pieces are lighter weight, stronger, and safer than stock. If the handling of your hot rod matters to you, and you actually plan to use it on the street-or even at the track-these suggestions will help you get started.

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HotchkisAdjustable Front & Rear SuspensionFits: 1979-1993 Mustang (Fox-body)After a long stretch of Mustang II regrets, Ford came out with what most experts refer to as the Fox-body Mustang. They had no idea then how this would change the hot rodding world. These Mustangs have a huge following that is growing every day, and the rarer the cars get, the more selective the owners are about modifying them. Lucky for them, the aftermarket world loves these Fox-body Mustangs.

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Hotchkis suspension has an adjustable rear suspension kit to replace the stock four-link system. Its arms allow for infinite pinion angle adjustment, which is critical in eliminating wheel hop. As an upgrade, you can get the double-adjustable upper arms (bottom) that use a constant pivot joint that won't bind or disrupt your suspension settings. The lower trailing arm is constructed of TIG-welded .120-inch steel tubing with an ultratough CNC billet spring perch.

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To cover the front, Hotchkis has adjustable camber/caster plates, (shown, right)since the factory does not accommodate enough adjustment for the serious cornering enthusiasts. The kit comes with CNC-machined 6061 heat-treated aluminum plates with polyurethane bushings for smooth and quiet operation. It also comes with TIG-welded strut hats that allow extra travel necessary for lowered vehicles.

Pricing:

Rear Suspension kit (upper and lower)

$461

Double-adjustable uppers

$252

Caster/camber plates

$256

Source:Hotchkis Suspension888-735-6425www.hotchkis.net

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Air Ride TechnologiesPosiLink Sway Bar EndlinksFits: UniversalHere's something for everyone! There aren't a lot of cars out there that can't benefit from an endlink upgrade. There are a couple different things that can be wrong with your current setup. One is that the length can be incorrect. Length is crucial to fitment and operation. The ends of the sway bar need to be level so that they have room to travel up and down with the suspension. If the ends are angled too much in either direction, they can bind prematurely, resulting in loss of traction or broken parts. Deteriorating bushings from a stock or low-quality replacement endlink can also cause the bar ends to be angled, or allow the sway bar to move without affecting the suspension, as it should.

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Air Ride has put together a line of components that can be ordered for a specific car, or pieced together to fit your application. They come in straight or 90-degree ends that thread together with or without a spacer. They are constructed similarly to tie-rod ends, so they have the ability to pivot without damage.

Pricing:

Sets for Air Ride sway bar (pair)

$150

Straight or elbow, 10mm or 12mm (each end)

$39

Source:Air Ride812-481-4787www.ridetech.com

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Classic Performance ProductsFront Suspension And Brake KitFits: 1964-1970 Chevelle (GM A-body)Classic Performance Products, also known as CPP, has been breathing new life into cars in need for over 30 years. Its product line covers Chevy trucks and passenger cars from the 1940s through the 1970s. Our focus is on its front suspension kit for the 1964-1972 Chevelle. We have a lot of experience with this kit with our own Project Street Sweeper '68 Chevelle.

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CPP has made several improvements to the factory control arm design. They have revised the coil spring pocket on the lower arm to make installation easier, and reinforced the ball joint sleeves extensively. Its billet chrome-moly cross-shafts encapsulate the bushing on both sides, unlike factory arms that only use the outer washer to control the bushing. CPP uses a self-lubricating bushing that provides squeak-free operation in conditions up to 400 degrees. To further guarantee their durability, CPP designed an interlocking shaft and sleeve to keep from working loose under stressful conditions.

To make this a complete frontend kit, CPP includes a new 600-series quick-ratio steering box, drop spindles, 13-inch brake kit with aluminum hubs, 1 1/8-inch sway bar, and all the necessary hardware to play.

Pricing:

Complete suspension, brakes, and steering kit (save $147)

$2,199

Upper and lower control arm/cross-shafts

$799

13-inch brake kit with drop spindles

$999

New 600-series quick-ratio steering box

$399

1 1/8-inch sway bar kit with endlinks

$149

Source:Classic Performance Products800-522-5004www.classicperform.com

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BMRTubular Front & Rear SuspensionFits: 1978-1987 Buick Regal and Grand National, Chevrolet Monte Carlo and Malibu, Oldsmobile Cutlass, and Pontiac Grand Prix (GM G-body)There's no doubt the GM metric-or G-Body-platform has become the fastest-growing segment of modern musclecars. With the high market demand for the early Chevys, Fords, and Mopars, these midsize 1980s cars are hot rodder gold. BMR produces many suspension components for these cars to optimize handling and traction. In front, they have tubular upper and lower A-arms (bottom) constructed of high-quality DOM tubing with provisions for factory or aftermarket springs, shocks, and sway bar. To further upgrade, the BMR system also accepts QA1's popular Pro Coil kit. Installed in these arms are low-deflection polyurethane bushings and billet steel cross-shafts.

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BMR realizes the need to improve the rear suspension, as well. The upper control arms are made from large-diameter DOM tubing and can be ordered as fixed length units or adjustable with polyurethane or spherical bushings. BMR suggests using the adjustable arms to allow for on-car pinion angle adjustment without removing the control arm. Unique to BMR are its billet lower control arms (above). They are machined from forged 6061 aluminum, and come in a black-anodized finish. In addition to the billet units, high-strength boxed steel arms are available. To round out the rear suspension, BMR also offers a sway bar kit intended for drag racing. With the exception of the billet lower arms, all components are available in red powdercoat and black hammertone finish.

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Pricing:

Front

Upper A-arms (pair)

$347

Lower A-arms (pair)

$550

Upper and lower kit ($65 savings)

$829

Rear

Upper control arms

Nonadjustable w/bushings (pair)

$130

Adjustable w/bushings (pair)

$220

Adjustable w/spherical bearings (pair)

$320

Lower Control Arms

Boxed control arms w/poly bushings (pair)

${{{200}}}

Boxed control arms w/spherical bearings (pair)

$347

Chrome-moly adjustable control arms (pair)

$260

Billet lower control arms (pair)

$230

Rear sway bar kit

$400

Source:BMR813-986-9302www.bmrfabrication.com

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Art MorrisonUniversal "Bikini-Clip" IFSFits: UniversalIf your application is more specialized, and a prefabricated application-specific clip can't fit, using a universal setup is a natural choice. Art Morrison has designed its "bikini-clip" front suspension to be molded to nearly any vehicle from the 1940s through the 1980s. For consistency, this unit is jig-welded, and comes with a length of framerail to make squaring up and installing between the factory pieces as easy as possible. This kit comes with three choices for suspension types: Corvette C6 suspension, tubular upper and lower control arms with coil springs, or with air springs. All of these options are designed for real-world abuse and have been optimized to experience little to no bumpsteer. The steering rack from AGR comes in a choice of two ratios and is connected to the wheels through Wilwood/AME-designed spindles. Keep in mind, this is not a Mustang II suspension, and has proven to be even more durable.

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Pricing:

Bikini-clip IFS kit

$2,855

Source:Art Morrison800-929-7188www.artmorrison.com

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Total Cost InvolvedTorque-Arm Rear SuspensionFits: 1964-1970 MustangLight cars like the early Mustang are prone to traction issues, and the stock suspension does not help matters. TCI designed this torque-arm rear suspension setup to dramatically reduce or cure these issues. This kit stretches from the front frame section all the way to the rear axle housing, helping to stiffen up the car. TCI's three-link system includes all the necessary brackets to convert your leaf spring car to this modern alternative. The TCI kit comes with subframe connectors, frame stiffener, torque-arm bar, rear Panhard bar, frame brackets, All American coilover shocks, shock crossmember, rigid three-link, and reinforcement plates. The kit can be dressed up with chrome and powdercoating for an additional cost for a show-quality finish.

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Pricing:

Rear suspension kit (base)

$1,679

Rear suspension kit (show-finish)

$2,069

Source:Total Cost Involved800-984-6259www.totalcostinvolved.com

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Detroit Speed & EngineeringFront And Rear SuspensionFits: 1967-1969 Camaro/Firebird, 1968-1974 Nova (GM F- and X-Body), and 1970-1981 Camaro/Firebird (GM F-body)Detroit Speed & Engineering (DSE) is a big player in the suspension modification game. It specializes in transforming early classics into modern handing machines. Its parts can be found on everything from street to race applications, and DSE spends weekends proving its parts. Its product line focuses on early F- and X-body cars, for which it has many options. Since Goodguys started the Street Machine Challenge (an on-site autocross event), DSE has been heavily involved, taking many vendor wins. (DSE's test car, a '69 Camaro, was built in-house, and can be seen wherever Goodguys runs the Street Machine Challenge.) DSE also has a complete fabrication/installation facility where it can install its product on customer cars.

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Many companies manufacture components, but DSE takes it one step further with its new hyrdroformed frame section. It's the only one on the market of its kind. The totally new, direct-fit frame allows you to replace what might not ever be square again with something better than stock. The new frame allows DSE to make its parts work to their full potential in a much stronger environment.

Its baby, the Quadra-Link rear suspension, is a four-link design with DSE's own "Swivel Link" that keeps the rear suspension from binding under extreme activity. They eliminated the need for spherical rod ends by replacing them with a durable rubber bushing to reduce the squeaks and rattles associated with the rod ends. They use Koni adjustable coilovers to allow maximum adjustment for tuning, ride-height setting, and corner weighting. This kit takes a little more skill to install than some of the others. It's necessary to cut into the floor to install the supplied sheetmetal boxes to clear the Swivel Link. They have designed it so the rear seat can still be used. To go with this kit, DSE makes a Ford 9-inch housing with the appropriate brackets already installed.

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Pricing:

Quadra-Link rear suspension kit

$2,495

Ford 9-inch axle housing

$1,005

Hydroformed front suspension (uncoated)

$6,700

Source:Detroit Speed & Engineering704-662-3272www.detroitspeed.com

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Total Control Products

IFS Coilover Conversion

Fits:

Comet

1960-1967, 1971-1977

Cougar

1967-1973

Cyclone

1964-1971

Fairlane

1966-1971

Falcon

1960-1970

Maverick

1970-1977

Montego

1968-1971

Mustang

1964-1973

Ranchero

1960-1971

Torino

1968-1971

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Chris Alston of Chassisworks acquired Total Control Products years ago, and has been testing and refining Ford-based products ever since. Now with over 10 years of production, this coilover conversion kit holds its own among its competitors. They're designed some unique pieces for this kit, including the TrueCenter pivot sockets that reduce deflection, and extend the lifespan of the strut rod ends.

TCP has redesigned the suspension geometry for a lower center of gravity, higher roll center, more negative camber gain, and reduced rebound travel to limit body roll. It also employs the common modification of relocating the upper control arm by machining an offset pivot shaft for a more aggressive camber curve. All of these components use factory mounting locations and do not require any fabrication, and they can be used with a factory or TCP spindle. The shocks used in this application were built by VariShock, owned and developed by Chris Alston. This particular shock was designed around this suspension, since no other shock on the market met the specifications needed to make the suspension work correctly.

To complete this kit, TCP offers a rack-and-pinion kit to convert that sloppy steering box to a smooth-operating power rack unit. All of these parts will be used on PHR's new Street Fighter project Mustang, which will roll out in the coming months.

Pricing:

Coilover conversion kit (starting at)

$2,485

Source:Total control products800-722-2269www.totalcontrolproducts.com

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HeidtsTorque-Arm Rear SuspensionFits: 1962-1965 Ford FalconNot all models get the attention that the first-generation Mustangs and Camaros do, and that's why Heidts designed this rear-suspension kit for 1962-1965 Falcons. With the cars weighing in around 2,900 pounds, and with room for a powerful V-8, the potential for performance is there. With any car, in order for the performance to be realized, you need to plant the rear tires to the ground. Heidts' four-link suspension setup paired with a Ford 9-inch rearend helps to do just that. The Heidts kit includes chassis and axle brackets, adjustable links, full upper coilover crossmember, Panhard bar, adjustable Heidts coilovers and hardware. If you're worried about cutting up your original car, don't worry, as this is a completely cut-less operation.

Heidts also offers a Mustang II-style front suspension for the Falcon that helps to continue the update through the car. It uses tubular upper and lower control arms, rack-and-pinion steering, disc brakes, and optional coilovers. To bring the two kits together, they also have subframe connectors available.

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Pricing:

Mustang II front suspension kit

$2,099

Four-link rear suspension kit (with axle housing)

$1,667

Source:Heidts800-841-8188www.heidts.com

What Fits What?This simple guide will tell you which suspension parts of popular car models (such as Camaros and Mustangs) will fit cars that are not as popular. There are some holes in the list, such as fullsize Fords, but it's safe to say what fits a Galaxie 500 will fit a Mercury Marauder of the same year.

We can't forget about the Mopar guys and Magnum Force certainly hasn't. It makes control arms, subframe connectors, and complete suspension kits for most early Mopars. Its kits cover a spread of years and models too long to list here. It removes the factory K-member and replaces it with a fabricated in-house piece that connects all of its aftermarket suspension components. This kit can knock up to 150 pounds off the nose.

The kit comes with a bar that is welded-in along the factory inner fender. This helps to support the loads dished out by hot rodders that were never expected by factory designers. Another issue the factory didn't give much attention to is header clearance. Mopar torsion-bar suspension is notorious for leaving little room for headers, but Magnum Force eliminates the torsion bars, and offers headers to take advantage of the new-found space.

The option list is extensive to say the least. Magnum Force offers the tubing finished in many colors including black chrome. You can also choose from double- or single-adjustable shocks, optional sway bar, motor plate or mounts, brake kits, drop spindles, and several steering options.

Pricing:

Tubular K-member kit (starting at)

$3,295

Source:Magnum Force408-559-6633www.magnumforce.com

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Lateral DynamicsThree-Link Rear SuspensionFits: 1967-1969 Camaro and Firebird, 1968-1972 Nova, Omega, Apollo, and Ventura (GM F- and X-body)We are no stranger to this suspension setup; Steven Rupp's project car, Bad Penny, uses Lateral Dynamic's three-link setup. This suspension is based on the idea that three points-a triangle-is nature's preferred shape. Lateral Dynamics has spent years perfecting the workings of this suspension, and has found that the three-link is ideal. They use long control arms because the length of the arm helps to smooth out suspension movement.

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While many companies use a Panhard bar to locate the rearend, Lateral Dynamics uses a Watt's link to control movement. The flaw with the Panhard bar is that it can allow some side-to-side movement when the housing goes through its travel. A Watt's link is more expensive, but the folks at Lateral Dynamics say its well worth it.

Nearly every part on this three-link setup is adjustable. This means that there are infinite adjustments you can perform to optimize the suspension for your car. It also means you may want to find someone who knows how to set it up! Lateral Dynamics supplies everything you need to get the installation done, from the housing to the hardware.

Pricing:

Base kit (excludes center section, shocks, and brakes)

$3,750

Source:American Touring Specialists702-245-6305www.t56kit.com

GM Alphabet SoupMaking Sense of the Automotive Alphabet SoupCar companies are huge entities, which almost always means that there's a great deal of component sharing across different car lines and model years. When it comes to really common parts that require a great deal of effort to design and produce-such as suspension components-commonality becomes more than a convenience for manufacturers, it's a necessity.

What follows is a fairly comprehensive list of vehicle platforms for General Motors. Generally speaking, different models that shared the same platform-for instance a '68 Chevelle and a '72 Olds Cutlass-can take the same aftermarket suspension bolt-ons, even though the manufacturer's catalog might only show the more popular Chevelle application.

You'll find really weird stuff, too. For instance, the front suspension of the first generation F-body is the same as the GM compact X-body. That means, in theory at least, a bunch of Camaro suspension parts will fit a 1979 Cadillac Seville. Who says a late '70s Cadillac isn't sporty? We've never tried the swap, so don't hold us to it-but it sure does fertilize the imagination.

The metric G-body was actually classified as an A-body from its inception in 1978 all the way through the 1981 model year. The '78 -81 cars are sometimes listed as A-bodies as a result, but are actually G-bodies.